Grad’s Artistic Trailer Draws Buzz for His Film

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Movie trailers tend to stick to a pretty standard formula, which is something that can’t be said about 2008 Film grad Bradley J. Lincoln‘s artistic, dialogue-free teaser for Adira.

Adira is the first project Bradley and his wife, Irene Delmonte, have collaborated on through their Kansas City-based production company, Hidden District Studios. Irene wrote and Bradley directed the World War II-era film that follows a young Jewish girl named Adira who gets stranded alone on an abandoned farm during the Holocaust.

The teaser above is meant to be envisioned as a scene that takes place before the actual movie starts. When the family member’s faces change and suddenly turn towards the left near the end it’s because there is a knock on the door, which is where the film begins.

“Everything in the trailer is supposed to be seen through the eyes of a photographer who is taking a family portrait,” says Bradley. “We wanted people to see what it looked like back then [during the War], to really connect with the story and see that this family [Adira’s family] was once happy and together, but with some underlying emotions.”

The idea for the trailer came from Irene, and while Bradley admits he was hesitant at first, once he started editing the piece together he began to agree with his wife’s creative point of view. The end result has received a wide range of feedback: many love the artistic approach and some don’t think it makes sense, with one person even sending Bradley a link to the Wikipedia definition of a teaser. But for the most part, Bradley says, people have appreciated it and are excited to see more.

“We wanted to do a period piece, but we wanted to find a way to make it different from all of the others,” says Bradley. “I think that was the key message of the teaser: we’re doing another WWII film yes, but it’s not your typical film.”

Adira will screen on campus at this Wednesday’s In-Flight Movies event, a monthly forum that gives students and grads from all degree programs the chance to watch a film and discuss the filmmaking process with notable guest speakers. Bradley will be in attendance to answer questions about the project.